At the World Series of Poker, they announce the event and coveted bracelet winners and then play the national anthem of the country they come from. Play stops at all the cash games and the players stand and remove their hats. When an American won, my table stood with their hands over their hearts and sang. I looked out over that vast sea of poker players and was overcome by emotion. The song always gives me tingles but there was also a love and astonishment at how wonderful the playing conditions have become for this sport. Yes, it is a sport.

The players’ manners are terrific today compared to the past. Johnny Moss was known for being abusive to dealers. Puggy Pearson was worse. He pissed on one once. Another Hall of Famer, Joe Bernstein, bit a dealer.

I cannot sing enough praise for the poker management of Harrah’s. I had long conversations with Bill Sattler, Director of Poker, and aslo Jake Reville, Cathy Klufer, and Carrie Jacobs. For twenty years, I taught management subjects at Texas Tech. The magnificent professionalism of Harrah’s management makes me wish I could go lecture on how great they are. I played in the cheap no limit where you only buy $300. I’ve never lost at the Rio, but only played there seven times. I’m not trying to beat the best in the world anymore. I’m too old.

My first trip to the World Series was in 1975. I first went to Las Vegas in 1960 to work as a shill in the poker room at the Golden Nugget, playing poker on house money. When I would look out over that poker heaven called the Rio and thousands of players, I’d remember when there was only one poker table in downtown Las Vegas where the player had any chance at all to win. There was one $6 limit razz game with a 25 cent rake. The rest were “snatch games.” The rake was stronger than Grandma’s breath. I never saw a poker winner. We shills cheated by signaling when we had a pair. We’d sat our two cards in five stud at a forty-five degree angle. Benny Binion got me the job for Bill Boyd, as I was “vouched in” by Curly Cavitt.

At the early World Series, and Binion’s cash games there seemed to be very regular squabbles, and the floor man was making constant obvious rulings. We called them the “famous Binion’s five dollar squabble” because they were holding up the game. The Rio is almost void of that. One reason is that early players often blamed the dealer for bad luck and bad beats. No matter how tough the Binion’s were, and they were even tougher than you think, they allowed verbal and even physical abuse of the dealers. Hall of Famers Johnny Moss and John Bonneti were legendary for their verbal abuse. When Bonnetti made the final table in 1990, his acid-tongued aggression did not stop. Puggy Pearson actually pissed on a dealer once. Another Hall of Famer, Joe Bernstein, bit a dealer. Puggy wore costumes. Once he came as a Native Amercian, with a full war bonnet with feathers to the floor, and war paint. At the time of the first Gulf War, he came as Saddam Hussein. Puggy parked a motor home outside Binion’s back door. On the side was painted, “I’ll play any man from any land any game that he can name for any amount that he can count.” He meant it. Puggy was a neighbor of my cousin’s, Bill Stapp. Given poker’s stigma, he told the neighborhood he was a school teacher.

I have only played at the Rio seven times, but have never seen behavior even close to the way players acted in those days. The players’ manners are terrific today compared to the past.

Bad behavior included frequently tearing up the offensive bad beat cards, throwing cards, especially at the dealer. In a home game, Gene Bass put an ace in his sandwich and ate it.

The old regular retirees who came in the early morning like shift workers would tip the dealer fifty cents. They might throw a dollar chip, and say, “Half back.” Once at the Mirage, Bill Gates played the three–six limit. He’d throw a dollar and say, “Half back.”

Late one night, back when I was damn fool enough to drink, I was ridiculing the half back crowd, and palming all the fifty cent pieces in the game and taking them off the table, which is technically rat holing, and against the rules. I now rat hole hundreds when I’m off winner and play on velvet. After a while, I looked behind me, and there was a plain clothes Binion’s tough. He gave me a really scary look, and opened his jacket to expose a big semi-automatic pistol. My behavior improved in a heart beat, and they were coming fast.

My all-time favorites of the early Hall of Famers were the gentlemen, Crandell Addington and Doyle Brunson. Both have given me dynamite quotes for my Bluff Europe articles. Crandell was younger than the rest. He still holds the record for the most main event final tables in the early days. He’d dress fantastically with boots, a perfect Stetson, and always a tie. He won a big prop bet that he would not loosen his tie during the long, long main event. Crandell looked like Hollywood’s idea of the leading man, a very handsome road gambler. He was one of the biggest road gamblers in many states by his mid-twenties. Look up Crandell Addington on google images.

One of the greatest things about the early World Series, were the stories I’d collect. For over fifty years, I’ve collected the stories and old gambling and West Texas sayings. At the Rio, I got on a really lucky rush, my best sequence of cards all year. I said, “I’m holding more hands than any manicurist in town. That hand was as big as a foot.” After fifty years, the table still laughs.

Paradise Found?
I wore a hat with my novel title, and JohnnyHughes.com on it. After awhile, someone would ask if I was Johnny Hughes. I’d reply,”Do you think I”d wear this stupid hat if I wasn’t?” At this World Series, I met Lance Bradley, editor of Bluff, and the legendary Kevin Mathers, another Bluff editor. I ran into Toupee Jay at the Cardoza booth manned by a young man with the great name of Casagrande. I talked with Nolan Dalla, who I remember a little as a loud and funny drunk at the poker table and the coffee shop. He was their press guy and he was with Benny Behan, the owner’s son which made it even funnier. He was that rarity, a charming drunk, like me. One thing that has not changed, but only grown much richer, are the stories poker players share. Now there are top writers like Al Can’t Hang, Dan Michalski, and Paul “Dr. Pauly” McGuire documenting poker’s history as it happens.

Jack Binion was the real leader and major brain behind the growth of the World Series. When he left, his sister Becky Behen, oversaw a steady decline. Once there was a dealer walk out, and she badmouthed them in the newspaper. She didn’t pay the floor staff the agreed on amount. The world class buffet went to plastic eating utensils.

When Binion’s Horseshoe closed, I went to downtown Las Vegas and peeked in the front window. One lone lamp illuminated the ghost like dice tables, and slot machines. It reminded me of a dark theater, which it really was, and the work light. That was poker’s darkest hour, and Harrah’s rode to the rescue like John Wayne and the U.S. Cavalry. Hear the bugle?

I’ve been robbed and arrested several times because of poker. I’d have to move or the game would have to move. I’ve played poker many places. Once in the basement of a Catholic hospital, an angry nun broke up the game. In the dorms, the athletic trainer broke up the games. We played in a car lot with only four chairs. Late arrivals had to sit on a tire. Once we played very high above a cold storage facility. We wore coats, our teeth were rattling, and we played seven-five low ball very fast to keep warm. I played regularly in a whore house and most with outlaws: bookies, loan sharks, thieves, many ex-convicts, lawyers, and pimps. Poker was a lot of trouble.

In going to the World Series, I’d go watch the Lady’s event, seven stud on Mother’s Day. I was there when Poker Hall of Famer Barbara Enright was the first woman at the final table.

The contrast with the ideal playing conditions at the Rio is striking. There was very little waiting time. The people from all over the world were friendly conversationalists.

The dealer training and employee courtesy add to the enjoyment. Harrah’s saved poker and made it what it is today. Their corporate culture produces skilled leaders like Bill Sattler, Jake Reville, Cathy Klufa, and Carrie Jacobs. That culture can be felt on the felt. Good vibes! Poker has come a long way. Harrah’s deserves a lot of the credit. I stay at the centrally located and reasonable Imperial Palace, another Harrah’s property with a nice, small poker room. I’ll be back!

I recently set off a minor controversy when I mentioned to @Pokerati that a Red Rock Casino poker dealer complained that new Heartland Poker champion Rob Perelman (@veerob) didn’t leave a dealer tip at the conclusion of the tournament.

First, I do not know Rob at all and was not making an accusation against him. I merely passed along the information because I knew @Pokerati had been covering the tournament. Second, as with any tournament cash of any size, Rob is free to spend or not spend his money any way he pleases. (He later tweeted that he tipped $2,000 on his $158,755 cash. The confusion being that he left the tip the next day after most of the dealers were gone and not directly after the tournament.)

Still, I believe the practice of tipping is an aspect of poker that merits discussion. Certainly, there is no standard for tipping in cash games or tournaments, and a lot is left to chance when the casino and other players alike rely on winners to pick up the check.

You may not agree with me to tip 10% of winnings of more than $10,000 in a poker tournament, but you can certainly agree that .00025% is extremely low!

Mike Caro makes a number of salient points when it comes to tipping in both cash games and tournaments in his article from 2006 here. How one player tips in poker is probably no different than how the same player tips at a restaurant or when getting a haircut.

Some players think that the part of a poker tournament buy-in withheld from the prize pool should cover everything. I have heard that of the house cut for the HPT main event (a $1000+100 tournament), $50 went to Red Rock Casino and $50 to the Heartland Poker Tour. I find it a little incredulous that a Las Vegas casino would split the house cut 50/50, but it’s possible.

When you think about the house cut, it is much like getting a meal in a restaurant. If you pay $50 for a nice meal it’s not because the food you ate cost $50. That $50 covers food costs, the server, the cook, the utilities and rent and leaves a profit for the restaurant owner. The server gets paid whether you leave a tip or not. The difference is that if you don’t leave a tip, that person is making $2.13 an hour. If you leave a tip of 15% to 20%, that same server can make a living wage.

Some players think that house cut is a huge profit center for the casinos. That house cut does afford some profit for the casinos, but that money has to pay a lot of people. At the WSOP, the house cut has to cover the labor costs for hundreds of dealers, floor people, servers and tournament staff.

At smaller casinos, where a tournament can literally use up every available table and dealer, this house cut is what the casino earns off its tables since there is no rake during a tournament. I manage a 40-person tournament in a four-table poker room. The tournament typically takes three hours. Until the tournament gets down to 30 people or less, every table is full and there is no place to host a cash game. The house cut makes up a percentage of what is lost in cash-game rake. This obviously doesn’t apply in a bigger casino that can afford to have a separate tournament room from its regular poker room.

As a poker dealer, I have been asked about tipping and how poker dealers are paid. Most poker dealers sign up for the Internal Revenue Service tip compliance program through their home casino or in any casino in which they are dealing a tournament. The formal part of tip compliance is: Under the Gaming Industry Tip Compliance Agreement Program (GITCA), a gaming industry employer and the Internal Revenue Service work together to reach a GITCA that establishes minimum tip rates for tipped employees in specified occupational categories, prescribes a threshold level of participation by the employer’s employees, and reduces compliance burdens for the employer and enforcement burdens for the Service.

Essentially, poker dealers (and other casino employees) are taxed a certain amount per hour for every hour they work. The rate of tip compliance is higher in bigger and busier poker rooms, less in smaller and less frequented rooms. What is consistent is if you are working eight straight hours at Aria on a Saturday night, you are taxed a certain amount per hour your rate of pay (i.e. minimum wage). If you are “dead spreading” at Excalibur at 8 AM on a Monday and don’t get a game for the first two hours, you are still taxed at your tip compliance rate.

The upside is that poker dealers in the tip compliance program keep all of their own tips. They are not reported to the IRS. They are not taxed. They are not shared. These tips are what make up the majority of a poker dealer’s wages. For a full-time Las Vegas poker dealer you can expect that your bi-weekly paycheck, after taxes and insurance, won’t buy you more than a bag or two of groceries. Your tips, however, can afford you a car and a home.

I know many a dealer who would rather be pitching cards in a four-table casino in the suburbs than in a high-stakes game on the Strip.

As I have been on the felt as both a tournament casher and a tournament dealer, I have seen both sides of this dance.

In a typical situation where the top 20 players of a tournament are getting paid, the tipping breakdown generally goes like this – 16 through 20 make a very small profit but they are willing to throw a few bucks of their profit to the dealers because they are happy to have survived the bubble. Finishers 15 through 5 are happy they cashed, but upset they didn’t cash big. They generally tip small or not at all because they have the mentality that tipping the dealers is the top finishers’ problem, not theirs. This is not true for all players, but I see it happen more often than not.

The top cashing players usually all tip based on what they think is fair – from 1 percent to 10 percent, but usually in the 3-5 percent range.

Here is where human nature really kicks in. If I buy in to a $120 tournament and win $3,000, I think I generous tip is in order. I would tip $300. However, most players I have run across do not think about the $2,880 profit they just made, but instead, think about the $300 they are about to give away. And that seems like a lot of money.

The same source of the @veerob tip told me that the second-place finisher was a local Red Rock 2-4 limit grinder who tipped $7,000 on his $79,059 cash. A 2-4 limit player is lucky to make enough just to stay ahead of the rake. Generally, that player would look at a $79,000 cash like hitting the bad beat and tip accordingly. Again, this tip is unconfirmed.

Every poker dealer has heard the tipping horror stories. My friend and fellow dealer @scarletlv told me of a player who tipped a half eaten candy bar. I have dealt in a casino where quarters are raked and players would tip 25 cents on a $45 pot. At a major downtown casino last summer, a player profited more than $2,000 in a tourney, but was so angry about the bad beat that knocked him out of the tournament that he slapped two quarters on the counter for the dealers and stormed out of the room. You may not agree with me to tip 10% of winnings of more than $10,000 in a poker tournament, but you can certainly agree that .00025% is extremely low!

I have dealt a number of poker tournaments in various casinos and have many friends who are dealers in Las Vegas and in other places. No matter the size of the tournament, the number of entrants or the location, the same number comes up time and time again with poker dealers — $10 per down. That is what most tournament downs (30 minute dealing sessions) average. That means that most poker dealers make $20 per hour for dealing a poker tournament (before taxes). That may seem like a lot of money, and certainly it is above the poverty line, but look at it this way:

And that’s for full-time dealers. With the supply of dealers being vastly higher than the current demand, most dealers are not full-time employees. They are extra board personnel and temp hires who take jobs where they can get them.

Locals and low-limit players are typically great tippers. They make sure they push you $1 or more after every single hand they win. Generally, bigger game players and tourists are terrible tippers. I know many a dealer who would rather be pitching cards in a four-table casino in the suburbs than in a high-stakes game on the Strip.

In the end, poker dealers are no different than servers, bartenders, valets and a whole litany of service industry jobs in Las Vegas. We do what we do because we like it and it affords us a living.

But the next time you hit that beautiful river card and take in a huge pot, take a beat and think about the hard-working person in the box making the game go smoothly.

Click to download. Image 1: Serzhenko, Image 2: Cheong, Image 3: Game logo. Hi-res images available on request.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 17, 2010

Key components include alternating rounds of the world’s two most popular games, running-it-twice, limited buy-ins, and small pre-flop betting in unstraddled Omaha hands — none of which were offered for low-stakes at licensed Nevada casinos until packaged as such by Pokerati, the most awesome and influential award-winning independent poker media outlet in the world.

“We are confident these changes that we’re not really pointing out will vastly improve the game and make it even more attractive to pros, PLO beginners, and players with plans to play in the November Nine,” said a spokesman for Pokerati. “Or they will be completely inconsequential.”

New rules can be found at the internet URL < http://pokerati.com/2010/09/17/pokerati-announces-slight-changes-to-rules-in-nlhplo-game/#game-rules > http://pokerati.com/2010/09/17/pokerati-announces-slight-changes-to-rules-in-nlhplo-game/#game-rules.

The Pokerati Game, begun in November ’09, has been popular with Vegas-based media personalities, professional players including WSOP and WCOOP bracelet winners, visiting bloggers, tourists excited to find live PLO option at low stakes, and cocky PLO locals like this one guy named Rex. Notable players have included “Bodog Ari” Engel, David “the Maven” Chicotsky, LIPS Grand Champion Stacey Nutini and her boyfriend, WSOP-Circuit champion and Full Tilt exile Jason Newitt, Scott Fischman, and nearly a dozen dudes who were like totally hammered.

Player representatives from Team Pokerati — all who have booked winning sessions in the game — have included captain Tom Schneider, 2010 WSOP MVP La Sengphet, Good Chuck, and JV Superstar Toothless Bob (who chose this game to play his first ever live hands of Omaha).

The most dominating player the Pokerati cash game has ever seen, however, was November Niner Joe Cheong, aka subiime, who turned a $300 buy-in into nearly $1,900 in just a few hours before donking off a couple hundred.

“I knew he was making a move,” said Dan Michalski, creator of the game and its biggest loser in history despite taking down a $2,800 score by finishing 2nd in the inaugural tournament version. “But I was just too much of a pussy to push with Ace-Queen suited because he had so many chips he could call with anything, and I didn’t want to have to rebuy.”

The Pokerati Game ran for more than nine months at the Hard Rock Poker Lounge in Las Vegas, and closed out its first season with the $230 No-Limit Hold’em / Pot Limit Omaha with a single $200 Rebuy World Championship, run by venerable TD and WPT Executive Tour Director Matt Savage. Players competing for that title included Gavin Smith, Layne Flack, Peter Costa, the Maven, Gary Bolden (currently ranked 111th in CardPlayer’s 2010 Player of the Year race) and Katkin.

The “Dash for the Sash” was won by a 23-year-old Russian drifter named Lev.

“This is the game everybody is clamoring for, and even traveling to Vegas just to play,” said the spokesman for Pokerati, a poker blog, social media, and live action consultancy established in 2004. “More than 2,700 Twitter followers and 112 Facebook ‘likers’ can’t be wrong. Fans know no-limit hold’em/PLO is not the same if it’s not a Pokerati Game.”

Attachments

Image 1: Lev Serzhenko, winner of the inaugural Pokerati NLH/PLO Championship winner, shows his support for minor rule changes to accommodate different Vegas casinos.

Image 2: Joseph Cheong developed the necessary chip-stacking skills to make the November Nine by building similar stacks while absolutely destroying a Pokerati NLH/PLO cash game, which provides both a safe and exhilarating way to bide one’s time while waiting for the WSOP main event final table to resume.

Image 3: Become a fan of the Pokerati game on Facebook.

Pokerati Game Rules (as of 9/16/10)

Updated: Sep 16, 2010

Supposedly the Pokerati Game made on its own this past Tuesday around midnight, with @MattCWaldron duking it out into the wee hours with an unusually drinky Rex the Bald PLOcal. Not sure how the stacks ended up, but from what I hear it was some of the most vigorous song-game action the room had seen in a long time. (The Hard Rock background music tends to shift to nuevo-hip hop and variety metal during late hours, and then late-late pre-sunrise it’s a lot of classic rock.)

At last week’s game, I was pretty unhappy because things were going well until I put myself in my first difficult spot of the night. After I failed to hit my 4-outer running it twice, @JaKatkin tweeted:

And @pokerati’s implosion has begun.
10:47 PM May 6th via TweetDeck

Asshole! Katkin clearly had a read on me, as he sat to my left watching my stack dwindle post-tweet to zero, at which point I rebought and re-lost yet again. (How did he know!?!)

That was also the first week we played with officially published rules. However my one copy I had at the table got ruined when a drunk (but good player … think he mighta been a Mavenite) spilled my glass of champagne all over the nicely printed document en route to his seat in the game.

But still all good I suppose. Got to make edits that way. Harris (@JohnHarrisTTU) found a flaw in one of my examples on how to chop the pot when more than two people are all-in and one or more players don’t want to run it twice (while two or more do). Have fixed that. Should all make sense now. Also had a couple punctuation typos.

Click here for the most current rules of the Pokerati Game @hardrockpoker.

The one rule where we’re not completely settled involves rounding the pot in PLO after the flop. As things stand right now, we round to the nearest $5 increment. I’m aware that most games round up even if you’re just a dollar over. (So a $76 pot, for example would play as $80.) And even though Rex the Bald PLOcal (pl-loco?) wants us to round up, too — he always wants to play a big pot — I kinda like rounding down when the true pot is only slightly over. I dunno, just little things that keep this game PLO-newbie friendly … and giving a sense that not every pot turns ridiculously big I think helps that.

However, they’ve also been playing some straight 1/2 PLO at the Hard Rock recently, and I’m not sure how they’re handling the rounding on those tables. (Have a call tomorrow to find out.) As much as I hope it also is to the nearest $5, not necessarily up, I think I’d be willing to change the Pokerati rule just to keep the game consistent across the room. Your gracious game host The timid would just have to sack up!

NOTE: Bald-aggressive Rex texts in to set the record straight:

Just so u know, I’ve never lost net money in the song game. I wish I could play both that game and ur game for the rest of my life. I’d quit my job.

Cool Rex, OK, whatever, learn to twitter and maybe we can talk.

Game Thursday. Lock your seat up around 7ish, cards in the air by 8.

Become a fan of NLH/PLO round of each on Facebook here.

The Pokerati Game — which started off mostly as a bunch of media donks and an uber-tight dude named Jackson — also seems to be becoming (as I’d like it to be) something of a must-play for out-of-towners … awesome 1/2 action that you simply can’t find anywhere else in Vegas. Seriously. Go ahead and try. It’s not the same game … And that doesn’t even get into all the promotional perks the Hard Rock has been feeding us.

Three tourists I know today are already gonna be there, which of course draws the vulturey locals who claim to “make a living” playing 1/2, but haven’t yet found enough success to be playing 2/5 or bigger. These Vegas grinders, I gotta say, are an interesting group … they don’t say much other than to call floor, appear to live for comps and free coffee, and may or may not have rent riding on an all-in with top set against the nut flush draw and a wrap … Run it twice!

Anyhow, after playing sporadically beta testing @HardRockPoker for about six months, and running into / working through all the nitty situational question marks that spring up, we’ve finalized and formalized the rules. So now, anytime the game gets going — as it did on its own Tuesday around midnight! — everyone can be on the same page about how we play Pokerati half-and-half at the Hard Rock.

Click here for an updated PDF of Pokerati Game rules suitable for posting on your bedroom wall. Or click below to see more immediately how we play it:

Updated: May 6 May 7 May 8, 2010

RULES
$1/$2 NLH/PLO
min: $100
max: $400

Rebuys:
Max buy-in is still $400. However, the table can agree to let someone rebuy for more; must be unanimous.

Straddle:
Is allowed under the gun and on the button (Hard Rock straddle). HR straddle always supercedes UTG’s desire to buy the last action.

In no-limit hold’em, the straddle is $4. In PLO it is $5.

Run-it-Twice:
Players can agree to run-it-twice in all-in situations where there can be no more betting, . If this happens after the flop, for example, dealers will burn-and-turn, burn-and-turn … then push those two cards upward and repeat … burn-and-turn, burn-and-turn.

With more than two involved in a hand, players decide if they want to run-it-twice only after all possible betting is complete. Players who prefer just one board must either show their hand or muck after seeing the first river to determine if the hand needs to continue.

Example: Short-stack (player A) is all-in pre-flop; two remaining players (B and C) get all-in on the turn and want to run it twice but player A objects. No problem. The first river will determine whether or not player A wins the main pot. If his hand is indeed best, player A gets the main pot, while B and C see a second river for the side pot only. If player A loses on the first run his hand is over, with B and C seeing a second river to determine what happens to the whole pot (main and side).

Or, say a middle stack (player B) doesn’t want to run it twice but players A and C do … the first river determines whether or not there will be a second. If B > C the hand is over, because player B wins the side pot, and the cards speak for the main pot. But if B < C, player B's hand is done, with C winning the sidepot and a second river determining the fate of the main pot.

In a 9-handed Omaha game, when the full board is run twice (all-in pre-flop), the last card in the stub will be used.

NOTE: There is no extra rake on run-it-twice.

Splash pot:

In NLH, the splash pot is simply added to the main pot. For PLO it is held off to the side, and the winner of the main pot gets it. But this extra money is not included in pot-size calculations.

At showdown, splash pots are considered part of the main pot, so even a short-stack who is all-in is eligible for all the added money.

Calculating the pot in PLO:

We round up the small blind, so someone coming in for pot UTG would be $8. With one limper “pot” is $10, with two, $12 … etc.

If someone wants to come in for pot with a ($5) straddle on, the bet is $20. If there is one limper it would be $25, and then $30, and then $35, etc.

Ater the flop, on all hands (regardless whether or not there was a straddle) the dealer will round to the nearest $5 increment for determining the pot.

Extras:

* The game starts with a flip of a table coin to see which game is first. The button position determines where the game switches.

* Cannot be played 10-handed.

* A player is not allowed to be dealt around. If he is absent, standard buying the button rules apply.

* Switching games. Players should not change the game up, nor ask to add any other games into the mix, especially early in a session. Exceptions can be made when it becomes clear that no new players will be joining.

* All PLO. sometimes, especially late at night, players might want to change ito all PLO. This is acceptable in the late hours if unanimous; however, the game will stay listed on the board as NLH/PLO, and if new players want to join the half-and-half game, it will switch back to it’s original half no-limit/half PLO format.

* If a bigger version of the game occurs (2/5 or 5/10 for example) that too will be played as the Pokerati game, with the same base of rules, and betting numbers altered accordingly.

For all J-Pollack V-logs, click here.

For the original Degen Update from the pseudo-media dude with revoked credentials (supposedly related to his video of a player smoking meth) and a tale of violence around a rule dispute in a $65 satellite, click here.

TJ’s beef (as told to me secondhand) was that even when players are not in a hand, they are violating tournament rules when they are texting under the table, in their laps.

Here’s the rule in question:

87. Cell Phone Rule: All cell phones and other voice-enabled and “ringing” electronic devices must be silenced during Tournament play. A player who wants to use a cell phone to talk, text, or email must step away from their assigned table or be subject to penalty. Any player using a cellular phone while in a hand with no action pending (player has gone all-in) will receive a missed hand penalty to be assessed on the next hand. No cell phones or other electronic communication device can be placed on a poker table.

Hmm, I dunno. I think it’s subject to interpretation — and frankly, imho, these are the problems with rules written (or approved) by lawyers, as opposed to writer-players. But what really surprises me in the above-described situation is that @JeffreyPollack didn’t twitter about it.

Just remember, whether you’re breaking a rule or not, you can follow all the peeps we’re following in the Pokerati Twitterverse here.

Tao of Pokerati at the 40th WSOP
Las Vegas, NV

Episode 11.5: Star-Spangled Hammer
3:08

Episode 11.6: Night Shift
2:47

Oh man. Same thing if you fold out of turn. Even if its an accident, automatic 1 hand penalty. Wsop always makes the craziest new rules.

Click here for the latest $40k chip counts.

Just broke 500k, but can’t believe new rule. Any card ACCIDENTALLY exposed is a 1 hand penalty. Dealers are instructed to always enforce it.

I tend not to like the absoluteness in the hands of a dealer, but then again, it is just one hand.

Click below to see who’s still alive and who’s busted:

(Chris Moneymaker is winning.)

Chris Moneymaker

741,000

151,000

Bruno Fitoussi

715,000

45,000

Michael DeMichele

690,000

25,000

Lex ‘RaSZi’ Veldhuis

625,000

95,000

Emil “whitelime” Patel

615,000

95,000

Justin Bonomo

570,000

120,000

Kyle ‘krisqueen’ Wilson

520,000

-75,000

Alan Sass

440,000

20,000

Matthew “adz124″ Marafioti

415,000

126,000

Andrew ‘good2cu’ Robl

410,000

175,000

Doshi Suresh

405,000

-15,000

David ‘WhooooKidd’ Baker

400,000

190,000

Neil Channing

380,000

130,000

Ted Forrest

380,000

-65,000

Sorel Mizzi

370,000

199,000

Alex Jacob

370,000

100,000

Isaac Haxton

364,000

77,000

Marco ‘CrazyMarco’ Johnson

350,000

75,000

Balint Barta

350,000

153,000

Andy Black

345,000

-5,000

Dani ‘Ansky’ Stern

345,000

153,000

Shahryar Eslami

345,000

225,000

Neil Chriss

330,000

40,000

Phil Ivey

325,000

70,000

Tony G

320,000

-10,000

Evan McNiff

320,000

140,000

Steve Zolotow

315,000

120,000

Nam Le

310,000

-40,000

Matt Giannetti

305,700

98,700

Phil ‘OMGClayAiken’ Galfond

300,000

-50,000

Alec Torelli

297,000

7,000

Huck Seed

290,000

-10,000

Markus Lehmann

280,000

20,000

David ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott

280,000

-40,000

Barry Schwartz

250,000

-35,000

Vitaly Lunkin

249,000

74,000

Matthew Glantz

244,000

89,000

Mark Seif

236,000

-94,000

Antonio Esfandiari

235,000

-130,000

Adam Junglen

232,000

52,000

Bill Chen

230,000

65,000

Jason Mercier

227,000

-7,000

Humberto Brenes

220,000

25,000

Doyle Brunson

215,000

50,000

Eric Kesselman

210,000

60,000

JC Tran

210,000

21,000

Brian Townsend

204,000

54,000

Dale Pinchot

202,000

82,000

Kenny Tran

200,000

45,000

James Mackey

200,000

120,000

Frank Kassela

198,000

-112,000

Ville Wahlbeck

195,000

-23,000

Noah Schwartz

187,000

-13,000

David Pham

183,000

-27,000

Steve Billirakis

180,000

-15,000

Josh Arieh

175,000

73,000

Scott Seiver

173,000

-62,000

Kirill Gerasimov

170,000

37,000

Lee Markholt

163,000

-52,000

Charles Lehr

156,000

-64,000

Terrence Chan

150,000

20,000

John Duthie

150,000

-50,000

Greg Raymer

148,000

-4,000

Mark Dickstein

140,000

20,000

David Benefield

137,000

-23,000

David Chiu

135,000

15,000

Hoyt Corkins

130,000

-75,000

Russell Rosenbloom

130,000

-30,000

Chad Batista

125,000

35,000

Johannes Strassmann

125,000

37,000

Mike Matusow

122,000

34,000

Amit ‘amak316′ Makhija

120,000

-62,000

Vanessa Rousso

114,000

-41,000

Chau Giang

105,000

-105,000

Mike ‘SirWatts’ Watson

101,000

-47,000

David Singer

100,000

-11,000

Jeff Lisandro

95,000

-65,000

Brian ‘tsarrast’ Rast

92,000

-28,000

Robert Suer

90,000

-15,000

Chris Moore

89,000

24,000

Steve Weinstein

88,000

-32,000

Hasan Habib

83,000

-72,000

Chris Moorman

72,000

37,000

Shawn Buchanan

65,000

21,000

William Molson

60,000

-16,000

Scotty Nguyen

45,000

-1,000

Clark Hamagami

0

-182,000

Marco Traniello

0

-110,000

Sami ‘LarsLuzak’ Kelopuro

0

-237,000

Dan Shak

0

-123,000

Tim Phan

0

-71,000

Steven Rosen

0

-77,000

Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier

0

-67,000

Peter Gould

0

-180,000

Nicolas Levi

0

-212,000

Vivek Rajkumar

0

-245,000

Bill Edler

0

-130,000

Randy Dorfman

0

-4,400

Luke ‘IWEARGOGGLES’ Staudenmaier

0

-62,000

Tobias Reinkemeier

0

-124,000

Jason ‘pr1nnyraid’ Rosenkrantz

0

-38,000

Homan Houshiar

0

-120,000

Phil Laak

0

-63,000

Jeremy Rafalowicz

0

-120,000

Richard Geyer

0

-85,000

Raymond Faltinsky

0

-91,000

George Adams

0

-91,000

Josef Monro

0

-64,000

Phil Hellmuth

0

-178,000

Weikai Chang

0

-120,000

Nenad Medic

0

-124,000

David Einhorn

0

-230,000

Steve Sung

0

-84,000

Doug Mackinnon

0

-135,000

Jean Gaspard

0

-140,000

Ludovic Lacay

0

-130,000

Shannon Shorr

0

0

Justin ‘BoostedJ’ Smith

0

-64,000

Philippe Rouas

0

-30,000

Brett Richey

0

-32,000

Daniel Alaei

0

-197,000

Howard Lederer

0

-67,000

Cory Zeidman

0

0

Dennis Phillips

0

-110,000

Freddy Deeb

0

-72,000

Joe Hachem

0

0

Doug Lee

0

-64,000

Alexander Kostritsyn

0

-140,000

Michael Binger

0

-20,000

Kathy Liebert

0

-65,000

Masa Kagawa

0

-120,000

Kido Pham

0

-105,000

Nikolay Evdakov

0

-100,000

Erick Lindgren

0

-42,000

Andrew Scott

0

-155,000

Yevgeniy Timoshenko

0

-52,000

Alex Keating

0

-105,000

Andy Bloch

0

-42,000

Sandor Demjan

0

-185,000

Aaron Been

0

-21,000

Gavin Griffin

0

-82,000

Matt Woodward

0

-112,000

Jay Kinkade

0

-120,000

Gavin Smith

0

-100,000

Eli Elezra

0

-105,000

Jennifer Harman

0

0

Jeff ‘ActionJeff’ Garza

0

-50,000

Daniel Hood

0

-51,000

Blake Cahail

0

-103,000

Shaun Deeb

0

-50,000

Mikael Thuritz

0

-8,000

Phil Tom

0

-41,000

Chris Ferguson

0

-112,000

Barry Greenstein

0

-68,000

Brandon Adams

0

-112,000

David Benyamine

0

-138,000

Ivan Demidov

0

-115,000

Corwin Cole

0

-115,000

Phillipe Boucher

0

-120,000

Annie Duke

0

-114,000

Greg ‘FBT’ Mueller

0

-200,000

David Williams

0

-24,000

Johnny Chan

0

-40,000

Eric Liu

0

-110,000

Peter Eastgate

0

-13,500

Daniel Negreanu

0

0

Florian Langmann

0

-38,000

Isaac ‘westmenloAA’ Baron

0

-16,600

David Steicke

0

-120,000

John Juanda

0

-101,000

Sergey Rybachenko

0

-135,000

Peter Jetten

0

-14,300

Steve ‘gboro780′ Gross

0

-63,000

Dwyte Pilgrim

0

-8,000

Bryan Colin

0

-111,500

Jonathan Little

0

-145,000

Dario Minieri

0

-76,000

Christian Harder

0

-75,000

Ted Lawson

0

-122,000

Per Magnus Ummer

0

-2,300

Tom ‘durrrr’ Dwan

0

-54,000

James Calderaro

0

-120,000

Scott Montgomery

0

-120,000

Jim Bechtel

0

-120,000

Erik Cajelais

0

-3,800

36. Harrah’s prohibits the use of obscene or foul language in any public area of the casino at any time. Any player who uses such language or makes a foul, profane, obscene or vulgar statement, or speaks abusively or in an intimidating manner to another player, a dealer or a Tournament staff member, will be penalized. These penalties will be levied based on Rules 31, 52 and 53.

Compare that to last year’s rule:

35. Any player who directs any profane and/or abusive language at another player, dealer or tournament staff member or who makes any profane and/or abusive comments about another player, dealer or tournament staff member will be penalized in accordance with Rules No. 31 and/or 51. In particular, the use of the so-called “f-bomb” and “c-bomb” as well as derivatives of those and similarly offensive terms, will subject the offending player to penalties if they are directed at or refer to another player, dealer, staff member, patron or official of Harrah’s or the WSOP. In Harrah’s sole and absolute discretion, it may impose at any time a zero-tolerance policy for profane language whether directed at another person or not.

The other rule change that stands out is the following:

43. Tournament participants may wear apparel with multiple logos, patches or promotional language. However, no individual logo, patch or block of promotional language is to be larger than 12 square inches. Temporary tattoos, adhesive strips for the skin, and “band-aids” with logos or promotional language are not permitted at any time.
A. No single company name or brand – or affiliated and similar name or brand – is to be represented more than once on any individual article of clothing.
B. During all Events taped for television coverage:
i. No more than three (3) players at the Final Table — and all other tables featured for television coverage — will be allowed to wear apparel with logos, patches or promotional language from the same entity.
ii. Should there be more than three (3) players representing the same entity at the start of a televised Final or feature table — and those players can not agree which player will remove or cover their logos for the common entity — a WSOP official will draw high-card prior to the start of play to determine which players will be allowed to wear the logos of the common entity. After the draw of high-card, the affected player(s) must either cover the relevant logo(s) or change their apparel.
iii. Under no circumstance may players seated at televised Final or Feature add logos, patches or promotional language to their apparel after the beginning of that day’s session of play.

This rule appears to mirror what the World Poker Tour has done in terms of limiting the number of sponsors per TV table, so there won’t be a return of the “PokerStars Six” at this year’s November Nine.

They’re also appearing to be proactive on the Band-Aid, adhesive strip and temporary tattoo trend that some college athletes have done (without the sponsorship of course).

Let the debate begin.

It seems that all one needs to do is be Phil Hellmuth, and no penalty will be given to you during a World Series of Poker tournament. And if the staff mistakenly decides to hold you to the same rules as they do every other player on the planet, if you argue that you are Phil Hellmuth, they will rescind it.

It seems that the WSOP and Harrah’s staff has learned that lesson. At the summer WSOP in Las Vegas, they attempted to give Hellmuth a penalty for berating a player, but when play resumed the next day, they took it back. It was noted that penalties are intended to correct inappropriate behavior, and WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack said at the time, “Phil has now been warned and put on notice in a way that he never has been.”

Oh, really? Following the coverage of the second day of the WSOPE HORSE event in London tonight, it seems that a certain organization has forgotten about said notice. According to official reports, Hellmuth continuously berated opponents and the dealer (making one of them cry), and threw his cards at the dealer. Reports described him as “furious” and “livid,” even going so far as to get a warning from the tournament director. *Oooooh*

Since rules don’t apply to Hellmuth, it seems that karma does. He was eliminated in 12th place.

Click below to see the live reports chronicling the final two hours of Hellmuth tirades.

From WSOP.com:

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 02:15:57
Hellmuth Loses Pot, Loses His Rag

Sherkhan Farnood has set Phill Hellmuth a-ranting. He won a monster stud pot from him, resulting in Farnood now shifting up to the heady heights of 120,000, while Hellmuth is down to around 70,000. “Split sevens against my rolled up eights?” cries Hellmuth. “You’re the worst player I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t matter though, I’m going to get all those chips back off you.” Said a very jovial Farnood, “I would be glad to give these chips back to you.”

---

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 02:58:05
Hellmuth Again

Omaha 8: I catch the very end of the hand, as a very pleased-looking Sherkhan Farnood is raking in the chips while simultaneously enjoying a massage, his hand face up in front of him reading and the board reading . Phil Hellmuth is once again declaring him, “The worst player in the history of the world,” and reluctantly throws his cards down; they are . Now thoroughly furious, Hellmuth is demanding that TD Steve Frezer order the dealers to be more thorough with shuffling the cards. “It’s just that he was dealing me some weird cards. I just want procedure to be followed.”

---

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 03:20:59
…And Again For Gregorich

Razz: The very next hand, Hellmuth doubled up Gregorich again, putting him up to around 50,000. Hellmuth to the TD: “Can you make the dealer release the deck every hand?”

---

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 03:37:54
The Mouth On Hellmuth

Stud: Showing up, Hellmuth bet out. Mark Gregorich, showing , raised. Hellmuth, clearly furious, ripped out his iPod headphones and cursed most offensively and personally in a manner not reportable on Pokernews. “I might have to take you out for this,” he warned, and threw his cards back to the dealer. Gregorich couldn’t quite hide a little smirk as he raked the chips in.

---

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 03:55:45
Correct Procedure

After a series of disastrous hands, during which he has become increasingly worked up, Phil Hellmuth is down to 50,000 and it looks as though it might be approaching his bedtime. He has once again demanded that Steve Frezer instruct the dealers in how to do their job according to, “Correct procedure,” and has now wandered across to the other table to share his woe with Howard Lederer. “Might not make it 19 minutes, bud,” he laments.

---

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:11:00
Hellmuth Threatened With Penalty

Continuing the late-night disastrous run, Phil Hellmuth is down to just 25,000 and has made the dealer cry. The TD has come over and attempted to smooth things over, explaining that the dealer has been working for 14 hours and that it isn’t her fault, but the dealer is quite upset and Hellmuth is being threatened with a penalty for attacking the dealer if he doesn’t cool off soon. The dealer is now receiving a soothing massage from the TD, and with just three minutes left on the clock, it looks like things are going to be ok.

---

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:18:54
Phil Helllmuth Eliminated In 12th Place (£6,188)

Hold’em: With 30 seconds left on the clock, Sherkhan Farnood raised, and a now thoroughly angry Hellmuth, forgetting that they were playing limit, announced that he was all in and threw all his chips in the middle. Farnood agreed to raise to cover Hellmuth, and it was a coinflip. Farnood: Hellmuth: Board: Thus our day three will most likely be quieter than it might otherwise have been, as a livid Hellmuth leaves the table to complain about Farnood and the dealer to a gentleman holding a video camera.

During current Hold’em session you were dealt 122 hands and saw flop:
- 0 out of 21 times while in big blind (0%)
- 0 out of 22 times while in small blind (0%)
- 2 out of 79 times in other positions (2%)
- a total of 2 out of 122 (1%)
Pots won at showdown – 1 of 2 (50%)
Pots won without showdown – 0

The series of events is called The Run Good Challenge — mad props to our friends at PokerListings for putting it on. 10 independent typists and two professional bloggers from Listings … duking it out in a game of online hungry-hungry hippo for real American cash:

Event 1: NLHE, regular Stars Structure (Sept 6)
Event 2: NLHE, turbo structure (Sept 13)
Event 3: NLHE/PLO, regular structure (Sept 20)
Grand Final: NLHE Deep Stack structure (Sept 27)

For the three prelims the top three spots will pay: $600, $300, $100. Grand final will consist of top five performers from external bloggers plus best of Dan or myself and will pay all six spots: $1,000, $650, $400, $200, $150, $100.

Sweet, no? Be sure to click below for “live” chatlog coverage from the feature table — kinda interesting to see how entertaining poker can be when you eliminate the hands. (And gives you disturbing insight into the sick minds of bloggers competing in a tournament that couldn’t happen at the WSOP without the entire final table being sent to the penalty box.)

Good mishmash times with Amy Calistri, Change 100, Pauly, the Entities from Wicked Chops (um, inverse multi-accounting?), Spaceman, Poker Shrink, Kid Dynamite, Shamus, Michele Lewis, and Matt & Dan from PokerListings.

UPDATE: Wicked Chops were no-shows.

As mentioned, I arrived a little late for this one, despite setting my poker alarm by going to sleep with Stars running a mere two feet from my head. Alas, pacific time, man … had 95 chips with blinds 50/100 when I arrived, waited a few hands and moved in with KQs … King on the river to triple me up … pushed again the next hand with A-10, but ran into Spaceman’s AA and didn’t suck out like i was supposed to. In the end (of Event #1), Pauly got heads-up with PL Dan … and upon learning that the PokerListings guys couldn’t win any money so their cash would be forwarded to the next prize pool we all insta-became big Dan fans … and during their lengthy suck-and-resuck mano-y-mano we did what you would expect any good poker writers to do: We tried to see what cuss words and sexual euphemisms we could get through the PokerStars chatbox censor.

Congrats to PL Dan for taking it down (and carrying it over!) and thanks to him and Matt for making this sort of poker party possible:

USERID	CHAT	SEAT
LFISBRTL	what it do	3
Blue123	hey y’all	6
ZClub	Poker Shrink here	1
LFISBRTL	pl strategy writer dan skolovy here	3
Blue123	amyc here	6
LFISBRTL	just finishing up my other tables	3
Blue123	just got out of my rockin’ .10/.20 razz game	6
ZClub	I assume that Michalski asleep in seat 7	1
Blue123	yeah – Dan can’t really be awake yet	6
Blue123	lol	6
mcornman	what is the password for this event?	Observer
LFISBRTL	lol	3
mcornman	??????	Observer
ZClub	you called it Amy	1
Blue123	you’re going to have to come over me to get his blinds however	6
LFISBRTL	can not confirm or deny any password for this even	3
LFISBRTL	t	3
ZClub	someone is missing	1
ZClub	must be a west coaster	1
LFISBRTL	i think there are a couple people	3
LFISBRTL	free blinds in seat 9 there	3
ZClub	11 signed up but someone is completely awol	1
ZClub	I think it may be the Wicked Chops entry	1
Blue123	naughty girl	6
LFISBRTL	i see how it is	3
LFISBRTL	too busy for free money	3
ZClub	change is too aggressive, its Pauly double accounting	1
ZClub	call the press!	1
LFISBRTL	multi accounting is all the rage these days	3
ZClub	it always is good for a couple of interviews	1
ZClub	damn, observer chat is off, I can’t harrass the other table	1
LFISBRTL	well its on for the guy begging for the pw	3
ZClub	hmm, must be me	1
Blue123	wanted to see that one	6
LFISBRTL	cib	3
RaiCanada	registration closed	Observer
RaiCanada	someone can tell me the password ?	Observer
LFISBRTL	shit i am playing in a bunch of late stage turbos	3
LFISBRTL	almost open shoved the sb there with trash	3
ZClub	lets buy Dan in to a couple of more tables, maybe heads up	1
LFISBRTL	im down	3
RaiCanada	where i can got the password ?	Observer
ZClub	Pauly is playing from the floor of the Borgata that should help	1
ZClub	is WCOOP still going on? change could be working too	1
change1OO	I was up until 7 AM blogging it	4
LFISBRTL	thats brutal	3
TNSpaceman	lookit these crazy people	Observer
ZClub	fast play means more sleep	1
DrPauly	hello all	Observer
Blue123	hey pauly	6
DrPauly	good luck everyone	Observer
ZClub	Hey Dr.	1
Real Texan	hey everyone	Observer
LFISBRTL	howdy	3
Blue123	hey gf	6
LFISBRTL	royal draw	3
mooninjune	good luck peoples	Observer
mooninjune	<– shamalamus	Observer
ZClub	Hey Shamus	1
Blue123	hey	6
mooninjune	spaceman thinks he can take my blinds	Observer
Blue123	i’m such a calling station today	6
TNSpaceman	i can, sometimes	Observer
ZClub	today?	1
Blue123	lol	6
Blue123	I mean they’re not suited or anything today	6
mooninjune	he did with the hammer once	Observer
LFISBRTL	TEN HIGH SHIP	3
ZClub	strong	1
Blue123	sweeeet	6
LFISBRTL	im gonna raise your limp everytime z	3
LFISBRTL	nobody limps my sb with t2	3
ZClub	political talk at the other table, this could get nasty	1
ZClub	yes sir	1
ZClub	I think you are in more danger to the left	1
ZClub	you two like a private room?	1
Blue123	these two love to tangle	6
Blue123	tango	6
ZClub	dance	1
LFISBRTL	nh	3
change1OO	lucky catch	4
LFISBRTL	sick	3
change1OO	aii ya	4
Blue123	yikes	6
change1OO	well that’s what i do on 2 hrs sleep	4
mooninjune	oof	Observer
LFISBRTL	lol the way ive been playing i have to get that in pre everytime	3
ZClub	a little private heads up match over there	1
LFISBRTL	no difference	3
LFISBRTL	only this way my money gets to go in good	3
LFISBRTL	rather than the satisfaction of sucking out	3
Blue123	grrr	6
ZClub	Ah the pokerlistings ringers can’t win the cash	1
LFISBRTL	gr	3
ZClub	no wonder they are so loose	1
LFISBRTL	yeah	3
LFISBRTL	well no	3
LFISBRTL	i always play like this	3
LFISBRTL		3
ZClub	me too	1
ZClub	poorly	1
ZClub	those that can’t do, teach	1
ZClub	those that can’t teach, write about it	1
LFISBRTL	lol	3
ZClub	and if you can’t do either, you manage	1
change1OO	jesus	4
ZClub	change, you guys cover one WCOOP from beginning to end?	1
LFISBRTL	gg	3
change1OO	gg, good luck all	Observer
Blue123	gg	6
ZClub	yikes!	1
change1OO	no, we do two shifts. i blogged 8 pm until it finished around 5:30am, then wrote the recap	Observer
ZClub	still brutal	1
LFISBRTL	lfisbrtl	3
ZClub	this will be interesting	1
Blue123	lol	6
LFISBRTL	pauly fall asleep?	3
KidDynamite4	he is working at Borgata	Observer
ZClub	he is working at Borgata	1
LFISBRTL	ah oh yeah	3
IndomacK	dan, you’re killing it	Observer
LFISBRTL	steamrolling	3
LFISBRTL	lol	3
IndomacK	take it down for the home team	Observer
MSeasons	life is brutal	Observer
LFISBRTL	aye	3
LFISBRTL	shove river i want to make hero call	3
LFISBRTL	ship!	3
LFISBRTL	nh	3
ZClub	you rejoice an 8 highwin	1
LFISBRTL	stand up to that bully	3
ZClub	FLOOR!	1
Blue123	lol	6
IndomacK	man oh man	Observer
ZClub	counterfeit	1
Blue123	me 2	6
LFISBRTL	guys were cutting into my 15 tabling time	3
ZClub	go for it, we will be kind	1
LFISBRTL	im used to blinds going up much faster	3
LFISBRTL	i play turbos so i dont have to actually play poker	3
LFISBRTL	i just like flipping coins	3
MSeasons	agreed	Observer
ZClub	nice	1
MSeasons	poker is too hard	Observer
Blue123	hehehe	6
LFISBRTL	i dont like that river	3
Blue123	thought it might have saved me	6
IndomacK	man, this table is ridiculous	Observer
IndomacK	super shorthanded	Observer
ZClub	yep, put in another seat and we go 10 handed	1
ZClub	we can squeeze in	1
ZClub	Dan has three rounds left	1
IndomacK	blast	Observer
Real Texan	sorry!!	2
ZClub	there we go	1
TNSpaceman	w00t	9
KidDynamite4	FINAL TABLE m***F***ER!	4
Blue123	damn – actual players	6
KidDynamite4	what a rush	4
LFISBRTL	hrm	3
KidDynamite4	i’im SO nervous	4
LFISBRTL	congrats final table!!!	3
Blue123	lol	6
ZClub	shouldn	1
TNSpaceman	it’s different under the lights, kid	9
IndomacK	it is a tough final table to make	Observer
ZClub	t they be sitting out?	1
IndomacK	only three quarters make it	Observer
KidDynamite4	aiyahhh	4
KidDynamite4	KK AGAIN!	4
TNSpaceman	dan has actually performed better by not playing.	9
KidDynamite4	michele has radar on me	4
ZClub	geez I may beat out Michalski the no-show	1
ZClub	may…	1
Blue123	well as long as Russ Hamilton’s not here – we all might have a chance	6
Real Texan	it was a read	2
TNSpaceman	LOL	9
KidDynamite4	lol	4
ZClub	nasty Amy	1
TNSpaceman	is that amy across the table from me?	9
ZClub	true but nasty	1
KidDynamite4	see, all my previous raises are supposed to make you pay me off when i have a big hand!	4
Blue123	indeed it is	6
Blue123	hey	6
Real Texan	hey dan, where were u in colorado?	2
TNSpaceman	i haven’t seen you in sooooo long	9
Real Texan	hi amy!	2
Blue123	I just don’t want to go out before Dan	6
TNSpaceman	even when he’s playing, that’s what we all aim for	9
IndomacK	dan’s chair is making a run at the money	Observer
DrPauly	wow, i made the final table	8
KidDynamite4	lol	4
TNSpaceman	we should set up a heads-up challenge between dan’s chair and vinny vinh’s chair	9
LFISBRTL	greatest chair run since minh	3
Blue123	lol	6
Real Texan	congratulations	2
LFISBRTL	yeah vinny vinh	3
ZClub	the Vinnie Vinh of bloggres	1
LFISBRTL	my bad	3
LFISBRTL	olol	3
Real Texan	lol	2
TNSpaceman	of bloggers’ CHAIRS, you mean	9
DrPauly	just a reminder, that im hosting Saturdays with Dr. Pauly at 4:20pm ET	8
LFISBRTL	we’ll all just sit out and see who wins	3
LFISBRTL	some how	3
TNSpaceman	i might just have to play today	9
ZClub	where the hell did he come from?	1
Real Texan	anyone ever read vicki coren’s piece on that?	2
TNSpaceman	on saturdays with dr pauly?	9
ZClub	Vinnie Vinh on Pauly?	1
Real Texan	cougar on dr pauly	2
DrPauly	dude, eskimois here	8
DrPauly	saw him again today	8
DrPauly	not playing, but wandering around	8
TNSpaceman	wherever there’s a handout to be had	9
Real Texan	at least he’s upright	2
ZClub	thats what Eskimo is here means	1
TNSpaceman	wherever a dollar might fall on the ground	9
TNSpaceman	eskimo is there	9
Real Texan	whaaatevaaa	2
KidDynamite4	hey michele	4
Real Texan	yo?	2
KidDynamite4	now adays, the kids say “whatevs”	4
ZClub	rule 42: if AMy can raise, I can fold	1
DrPauly	i love AC, some guy named Dino just busted	8
TNSpaceman	oooooooooooooooooh	9
ZClub	bitch!	1
Real Texan	i’m down wid dat	2
KidDynamite4	just trying to help you stay hip	4
ZClub	will stalling help?	1
KidDynamite4	oh Doc…	4
Real Texan	i need all the hip i can get	2
ZClub	ten minute break Pauly?	1
DrPauly	now?	8
Real Texan	smoke break	2
DrPauly	i wish	8
KidDynamite4	pauly, you need a bounty on your head	4
DrPauly	no	8
KidDynamite4	i need incentive	4
DrPauly	i dont	8
DrPauly	it encourages POOR play	8
IndomacK	next break in 5 mins	Observer
KidDynamite4	exactly	4
ZClub	Well at least you’re not “The hardest working man in poker”	1
Real Texan	or a stud	2
KidDynamite4	not that i’m complaining, but i’m still trying to find out how i got considered a member of “the poker media”	4
KidDynamite4	lol michele	4
ZClub	a question we all are asking	1
TNSpaceman	i have been asking that about myself since 2005	9
ZClub	first requirement: a laptop	1
Real Texan	moon woke up	2
ZClub	second: still looking for it	1
IndomacK	its for bloggers	Observer
Real Texan	oooooohhhh	2
mooninjune		5
IndomacK	I think I’ve read about poker on your blog…once or twice	Observer
IndomacK	maybe	Observer
TNSpaceman	dan came back to play his last 95?	9
KidDynamite4	in any case, thanks matt… you have good taste	4
Real Texan	moon spoke!	2
Blue123	omg is Dan actually here?	6
mooninjune	moon is all cheese	5
IndomacK	right back atcha slick	Observer
DrPauly	gay av, dan	8
Real Texan	dan, i dare you to go all in	2
Real Texan	in like five hands	2
TNSpaceman	double dare him, then he will	9
LFISBRTL	save it for the bb imo	3
DrPauly	DOUBLE	8
KidDynamite4	gay av… hah	4
Blue123	triple dog dare	6
ZClub	Dan I dare you to sit up straight for more than 10 minutes	1
mooninjune	dan is employing a most unique strategy	5
RiverDan72	good morning	7
LFISBRTL	lets see how it works out for him	3
IndomacK	dan, there you are	Observer
Real Texan	that is not the dan youre looking for	2
TNSpaceman	in texas they call it “strategery”	9
ZClub	tragedy>	1
Real Texan	LOCKBOX	2
TNSpaceman	awesome michele	9
Real Texan	with a decoy	2
RiverDan72	who’s winning?	7
LFISBRTL	me i guess	3
TNSpaceman	poker is winning, dan. poker.	9
ZClub	the home team	1
mooninjune	gh amy	5
Blue123	ty	6
Real Texan	pokerstars is winning	2
KidDynamite4	we are all winners in my book	4
KidDynamite4	lol… seriously.. am i the only one laughing at ME?	4
TNSpaceman	for the record, i’m suddenly feeling strangely motivated.	9
TNSpaceman	and i hear theme music.	9
ZClub	Caddy Shack?	1
Real Texan	rocky?	2
Real Texan	lol	2
ZClub	that is so wrong	1
KidDynamite4	chariots of fire?	4
IndomacK	surely its the theme from top gun	Observer
LFISBRTL	oh come on	3
LFISBRTL	a break	3
Real Texan	no more like cinderalla	2
LFISBRTL	bush league pshyce out stuff	3
KidDynamite4	i’m gonna go study	4
IndomacK	I’m gonna go study a cigarette	Observer
KidDynamite4	where is Coquitlam?	4
IndomacK	near vancouver	Observer
LFISBRTL	yeah	3
IndomacK	suburb sorta	Observer
KidDynamite4	ohhh.. canadian eh?	4
LFISBRTL	yeah	3
LFISBRTL	i love beavers and igloos	3
Real Texan	do u like know negreanu?	2
Blue123	I looked a moving to Vancouver once	6
KidDynamite4	i also love beavers	4
KidDynamite4	AND igloos	4
IndomacK	all canadians know each other	Observer
DrPauly	and KIND NUGS	8
Blue123	fear the beaver	6
KidDynamite4	the beaver is actually somewhat of an endagered species these days	4
Real Texan	just had it stuffed	2
IndomacK	you have nothing to fear from the beaver	Observer
LFISBRTL	except the beaver itself	3
IndomacK	except for its tail	Observer
RiverDan72	go beavers!	7
Blue123	thanks dan	6
LFISBRTL	i had a pet beaver as a kkid	3
LFISBRTL	he lived in our bathtub	3
KidDynamite4	i am waiting for the punchline….	4
LFISBRTL	thats it, he was just friendly	3
DrPauly	gl	8
RiverDan72	crap	7
IndomacK	he’s canadian, that was the punchline	Observer
DrPauly	gg Dan	8
IndomacK	oh noez!	Observer
TNSpaceman	nice run, dan. your chair, too.	9
RiverDan72	such crap.	Observer
RiverDan72	i played too tight	Observer
TNSpaceman	lol	9
ZClub	the moral victory is ours	1
IndomacK	blame it on the chair	Observer
Real Texan	maybe you just played too long	2
Blue123	you played tighter than I’ve ever seen you play	6
TNSpaceman	WAY tighter	9
ZClub	back to bed Dan	1
DrPauly	tighter than a twink’s arse in west hollywood	8
TNSpaceman	lol	9
Real Texan	whats a twink	2
DrPauly	GOOGLE	8
ZClub	whose an arse	1
Blue123	lol	6
Real Texan	whats a google	2
KidDynamite4	where is west hollywood?	4
DrPauly	do a image google search	8
TNSpaceman	what’s a google	9
DrPauly	gg Dr.	8
Blue123	gg	6
TNSpaceman	gg shrink	9
Real Texan	gg	2
LFISBRTL	gg	3
mcornman	gg	Observer
RiverDan72	pacific timers at a disadvantage	Observer
mooninjune	gg	5
RiverDan72	just sayin’	Observer
DrPauly	excuses	8
Blue123	totally	6
TNSpaceman	pacific time is an advantage in life, so it evens out	9
KidDynamite4	lol	4
TNSpaceman	i actually live on pacific time, but i do it in tennessee	9